There were some excited Cub Scouts at a recent La Crosse Loggers baseball game, and I don’t mean professionals from a Chicago team looking for talent.
A small group of Hillsboro’s Pack 83, along with some parents, enjoyed an overnight stay recently in the outfield at Copeland Park, aka the Lumberyard, after seeing an exciting game that featured a truly rare and amazing play.
An opposition player hit a towering homer out of the park and was so proud rounding the bases that he forgot to touch home plate. He was immediately called out by the umpire, a correct decision that caused a minor uproar and the eventual ejection of the player’s manager.
Our local kids could probably attend ball games for the rest of their lives and never see that happen again. In fact, they didn’t see it this time because they were at the concession stand getting snacks!
“We saw all the commotion on the field but didn’t know why,” one of them reported to me. That part, of course, can be left out of the story when they tell their grandchildren some day.
The amazing play was only a small, but memorable, part of the Loggers’ annual Scouting Families Outing.
After a 13-5 hometown victory, the several hundred Scouting visitors from all over the area, pitched tents in the outfield and enjoyed a good night’s sleep.
After a good breakfast, courtesy of the Loggers, the boys attended a baseball clinic that included instructions and tips from six patient and friendly Logger players.
Different skill stations, featuring batting, pitching, and fielding practice, were set up around the entire field. The Scouts were thrilled to be practicing in the same area where the Loggers had just played a game the previous night.
According to the Pack 83 contingent, the players were also great coaches and offered plenty of help to the youngsters who were truly excited about practicing right on the Loggers’ field.
Afterward, the baseball stars stayed around to sign plenty of autographs for the kids, some of whom requested the signatures right on a baseball hat.
Before the event ended the kids and their parents also got a chance to meet and chat with Loggers owner Dan Kapanke, a former State Senator, who always was very fond of Hillsboro and visited friends in the area many times.
In fact, for quite a while he was practically a regular member of the Country Style Cooking Breakfast Club. Dan is always delighted to exchange memories with old friends and former supporters.
A Loggers game at the Lumberyard is a great place for a family outing throughout the baseball season. Where else can you see the owner of the team taking tickets at the gate or selling popcorn in the stands? He just plain likes meeting people.
